Nozzle



Nov. 4, 1969 K. H. KOHNKEN NOZZLE Filed Dec. 28, 1967 INVENTOR.

KENT H. KOHNKEN United States Patent O 3,476,324 NOZZLE Kent H. Kohnken, Lewiston, N.Y., assignoto The Carborundum Company, Niagara Falls, N.Y., a corporatio of Delaware Filed Dec. 28, 1967, Ser. No. 694,343 Int. Cl. Bb 1 14, 7/06 U.S. Cl. 239-590.5 5 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE This invention relates to apparatus used in the manufacture of inorganic fibrous material and, more particularly, to a new and improved nozzle employed in the production of blown inorganic fibrous material.

Normally, in the manufacture of inorganic fibrous material, a stream of -molten inorganic material is released and subjected to a berizing means. One such fiberizing means may be a high temperature, high velocity blast of gas, such as steam or air, directed at approximately right angles against the molten stream thereby forming many small globules and attenuating them into discrete bodies or fibers.

The production of inorganic fibrous material, particularly ceramic fibers, by the above process has resulted in a product having a relatively low fiber content or percentage of pure fiber obtained from the blown mass of material collected, the remainder of the material being shot or unfiberized material. Attempts have been made to solve this problem by inserting cores within the blast end of a nozzle and, although these improved nozzle designs have served the purposes for which they were designed, they have not been entirely satisfactory due to their inability to materially improve the quality of the fiber.

The apparatus of the present invention, as hereinafter described, substantially increases the fiber content or quality of the blown finished product by providing a nozzle having a new and improved core or insert plug incorporated therein. Utilization of the novel nozzle of the present invention has improved the fiber quality over that produced by prior known nozzles.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a new and improved blast nozzle for use in the manufacture of blown fibers.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a new and improved blast nozzle having novel means incorporated therein for improving the quality of the blown fiber.

It is still another object of the present invention to produce an improved quality fiber having a smaller percentage of shot or unfiberized material therein.

It is a more specific object of the present invention to provide a new and improved blast nozzle having a core or insert plug with a passageway extending therethrough and a groove cut longitudinally into the periphery of said plug to materially increase the quality of the finished fiber product.

These and other objects of the present invention will become more apparent upon consideration of the follow- 3,476,324 Patented Nov. 4, 1969 ing detailed description thereof when taken in conjunction with the following drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view illustrating the various parts of the blast nozzle constructed in accordance with the principles of this invention;

FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of the blast nozzle shown in FIG. 1;

i FIG. 3 is an end elevational view looking into the outlet end of the nozzle shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is an end elevational view illustrating the working cross-sectional area of a gaseous blast discharged from a prior known nozzle; and

FIG. 5 is an end elevational view illustratng the working cross-sectional area of a gaseous blast discharged from the nozzle of the present invention.

Referring to the drawngs it will be seen that a blast nozzle constructed in accordance with the principles of this invention comprises a hollow cylindrical conduit 10 provided with external threads 12 at one end thereof cooperable with an internally threaded high pressure gas line (not shown). The other end or outlet end of conduit 10 terminates in an inclined end portion 14- which is sloped forwardly and downwardly and preferably lies in a plane at an angle of approximately 45 relative to a horizontal plane taken through the axis of said conduit. It should be appreciated that the principles of this invention envisage the end porti-on 14 to be sloped at angles greater or less than 45, if desired. For purposes of this description, the front or forward end 'is taken to be the outlet end or the right-hand side of conduit 10 as viewed in FIG. 2. Also, the terms top, bottom, upper, lower and the like as used herein are referenced to FIGS. 2 and 3 and are applied only f-or convenience of description and should not be taken as lmiting the scope of this invention.

Rgidly secured within conduit 10 adjacent the inner upper surface 15 thereof is a core or insert plug, generally designated 16, of lesser cross-sectional area than the inside of conduit 10, said corevhaving an upper arcuate surface portion 18 abutting the inner upper surface 15 of conduit 10. A pair of apertures 22 are provided in the upper wall of conduit 10 for receiving suitable securing means such as bolts 24 having suitable threads thereon engageable with threaded bores 26, respectively, or 'insert plug 16. The space between conduit 10 and insert plug 16 forms an exhaust port or passageway 27 of a crescent shaped cross section.

As shown in FIG. 2, the forward portion of insert plug 16 preferably pr-otrudes outwardly beyond the plane of the end portion 14 of conduit 10 and is provided with an end face 28 which slopes forwardly and downwardly at approximately the same angle as the plane of end portion 14. However, *if desired, face 28 may lie substantially in the plane of end portion 14 or rearwardly thereof within the purview of the present invention.

Insert plug 16 is preferably circular in cross section and is preferably composed of a suitable steel or graphite material. A groove 30 of an inverted V-shaped cross section is cut into the periphery of the insert plug 16 at the bottom thereof and extends lengthwise of said plug for a purpose hereinafter more fully explained.

A substantially circular passageway 32 extends from the rear end of plug 16 inwardly toward front face 28. Passageway 32 extends parallel to the longitudinal axis of plug 16 and terminates in a circular groove 34 which extends to the front face 28 of said plug to form another exhaust outlet for a gaseous stream.

In operation, the outlet end of the nozzle is so positioned that its axis lies in a substantially horizontal direction to release a high velocity blast of gas of crescent shaped cross section. A stream 40 of molten inorganic material is released so as to fall vertically just forwardly of the outlet end of the nozzle into the trough-shaped formation or pocket of the gaseous blast, generally designated 41. The molten material is turned 90 in a substantially horizontal direction and fragmented into numerous globules or droplets which are, in turn, attenuated into fibers.

FIG. 4 represents the outlet end of a prior known nozzle 42, the shaded area 44 representing that portion of the gaseous blast that contacts the molten stream of inorganic material. It -will be seen that only a small portion of the gas located directly at the bottom of the nozzle pocket is doing any work. The remaining portion 46 of the gas escapes along the sides of the periphery of the insert plug without serving any useful function. With reference to FIG. 5, it will be seen that the circular outlet 34 efiectively fragments the molten stream 40 into separate melt entities prior to being subjected to the main stream of gas. Moreover, the V-shaped groove 30 at the bottom of insert plug 16 of the present invention directs the gaseous blast at the remaining portion of the molten stream 40 that is not attacked by the blast exiting through the circular outlet 34 to split the stream into two halves and spread the same laterally outwardly. The combined effect of the circular outlet and the V-shaped groove results in spreading the molten stream outwardly within the confines of the crescent shaped pocket to expose the melt to a larger percentage of the gaseous blast, as illustrated by the shaded area 50, thereby increasing the fiber content of the blown finished product.

As a result of the present invention, a new and improved nozzle is provided for forming fibers from a molten inorganic material in an improved and more efficient Inanner. By the provis'ion of a novel designed insert plug having a groove extending lengthwise thereof and a circular outlet, a larger portion of the gaseous blast passing through the nozzle is utilized to enhance fiberization of the molten stream of ceramic material resulting in a fiber product having a greater percentage of fiber than can be realized with prior known fiberizing nozzles.

A preferred embodiment of the principles of this invention having been hereinabove described and illustrated, it is to be realized that modifications thereof can be made without departing from the broad spirit and scope of this invention.

I claim:

1. A nozzle comprising: a Conduit having an inner surface and an outlet end through which a gas stream passes; an insert plug disposed within said condut adjacent said outlet end thereof and having a first peripheral portion abuttng said inner surface of said conduit; means for securing said first peripheral portion of said insert plug to said inner surface of said conduit; said insert plug having a lesser crosssectional area than the cross-sectional area of the inside of said Conduit to define an exhaust port of generally crescent cross-section; said insert plug having an end face; a passageway extending longtudinally through said insert plug; and said passageway having a portion thereof of a circular groove configuration terminating at said end face of said plug to provide a second exhaust port.

2. A nozzle as defined in claim 1 in which said insert plug has a second peripheral portion diametrically opposed from said first peripheral portion; said second peripheral portion being provided with a longitudinal groove extending lengthwise of said plug.

3. A nozzle as defined in claim 2 in which said outlet end of said Conduit has an end portion lying in a plane that is inclined relative to the longitudinal axis of said Conduit.

4. A nozzle as defined in claim 3 in which said end face of said insert plug is inclined relative to the longitudinal axis of said plug and protrudes outwardly beyond said outlet end of said conduit.

5. A nozzle as defined in claim 4 in which said longitudinal groove is V-shaped in cross section.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 520,766 6/ 1894 Bryce 239-428 748,608 1/ 1904 Hueni 239-599 2,743,136 4/ 1956 Auer 239-601 3,001,724 9/ 1961 Osborne i 239-455 3,015,127 1/1962 Stalego 239-601 3,178,121 4/1965 Wallace 239-601 3,412,942 11/1968 Smith et al. 239-601 EVERE'IT W. KIRBY, Prmary Examiner U.S. CI. X.R. 

